Our firm’s website is in need of a refresh. The current website is hosting on the server that is owned by the web developer and it runs an old version of Drupal. Although we can log in to post content, it isn’t very user friendly and we cannot update the back-end ourselves.

We are therefore thinking of transitioning the website to wordpress.org and so the search is on for an appropriate business style template to form the base of the site. The site will fundamentally be a brochure style accountancy firm website, with the main page being a welcome or about us page and the blog part relegated to a sub page.

Can you claim an Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) on assets introduced personally to a business. E.g. by a sole-trader on incorporation?

Answer: No. AIA is denied in several circumstances as part of an anti-avoidance rule, including transactions between connected persons:

Connected persons transactions: if a person incurs expenditure in a transaction with a connected personCA28800, no AIA is due (CAA01/S214 & S217). There is an example of a connected person transaction (where brothers attempted to exploit the legislation to obtain more allowances than was intended) at CA28100. This anti-avoidance rule prevents such exploitation and denies an AIA in all cases where the parties to the relevant transaction CA28200 are connected.

Currently HMRC regards the supply of specific stand space at an exhibition or conference as a supply of land. This policy will continue where the service is restricted to the mere supply of space without any accompanying services.

However, where stand space is provided with accompanying services as a package, this package (stand and services) will no longer be seen as a supply of land with land related services but will be taxed under the general place of supply rule (customer location) when supplied to business customers.

The value of taxable supplies made in the previous 12 months exceeds the VAT registration threshold; or

The trader has reasonable grounds for believing that the value of taxable supplies in the next 30 days (or their own) will exceed the vat registration threshold.

The current VAT threshold is £77,000 for businesses registering from 1 April 2012 onwards.

Common misunderstanding with the 30 day rule: you don’t look forward 30 days and add this to the 11 previous months. They are separate rules. With the 30 day rule you only look at the forthcoming 30 days.

You must charge VAT at the beginning of the month after the month you satisfy rule 1 (historic test), or immediately if you satisfy rule 2 (30 day rule).

For example, if you had made taxable supplies in the 12 months to 31 December 2012 of £70,000, then you would not need to register, but if you had made supplies totalling £80,000 in the year ending 31 January 2013, then you would need to register for VAT within February 2013 and charge VAT from 1 March 2013 onwards.

Today I heard another person recite the myth about it being illegal to be left alone at work, so I thought that this information from the government agency HSE (the Health and Safety Executive) might be useful.